The Three Questions

There was once a king who believed that if he always knew three things, he would never fail in anything he did.

When is the right time to begin something?

Who are the right people to listen to, and whom should I avoid?

And what is the most important thing to do?

He announced throughout his kingdom that he would give a great reward to anyone who could teach him the answers. Learned men came from far and wide, but their answers were all different.

Some said that to know the right time for everything, you must plan a timetable of days, months and years in advance. Others said it was impossible to know in advance, and the king must simply pay attention to everything that happened. Others said he needed a council of wise men to advise him.

About the right people, some said councillors, some said priests, some said doctors, and some said soldiers. About the most important thing, some said science, some said war, and some said religious worship.

The king agreed with none of them, and gave the reward to nobody.

The hermit

Still wanting answers, he decided to visit a hermit who lived in a forest and was famous for his wisdom. The hermit never left the forest and saw nobody but simple people. So the king put on plain clothes, left his horse and his bodyguard at the edge of the woods and went on alone.

He found the hermit digging the ground in front of his hut. The hermit was frail and old. Every time he pushed his spade into the earth and turned over a little soil, he breathed heavily.

The king went up to him. "I have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you three questions." And he asked them.

The hermit listened, but he said nothing. He spat on his hand and went on digging.

"You are tired," said the king. "Let me take the spade and work a while for you."

"Thank you," said the hermit. He gave the king the spade and sat down on the ground.

The king dug two beds. Then he stopped and asked his questions again. The hermit did not answer, but stood up and held out his hand for the spade.

"Now rest a while," he said, "and let me work."

But the king did not give him the spade. He went on digging. One hour passed, then another. The sun began to sink behind the trees.

At last the king stuck the spade into the ground and said, "I came to you, wise man, for an answer. If you can give me none, tell me so, and I will go home."

The stranger

"Here comes someone running," said the hermit. "Let us see who it is."

A bearded man came running out of the wood, holding his hands over his stomach. Blood was flowing from under them. He reached the king, fell fainting to the ground and lay there, moaning feebly.

The king and the hermit opened the man's clothes. There was a large wound in his stomach. The king washed it as best he could and bandaged it with his own handkerchief and a towel the hermit brought. When the blood soaked through, he washed and bandaged it again, until at last it stopped.

The man revived and asked for something to drink. The king brought fresh water. Then, with the hermit's help, he carried the wounded man into the hut and laid him on the bed.

The man closed his eyes and was quiet. The king was so tired from his walk and his digging that he lay down on the threshold and slept soundly all through the short summer night.

The confession

When he woke in the morning, the bearded man was gazing at him with shining eyes.

"Forgive me," the man said in a weak voice.

"I do not know you," said the king. "I have nothing to forgive you for."

"You do not know me, but I know you. I am your enemy. I swore to take revenge on you, because you executed my brother and took my land. I knew you had gone alone to see the hermit, and I decided to kill you on your way back. But the day passed and you did not return. So I came out of my hiding place to find you, and I ran into your bodyguards. They recognised me and wounded me. I escaped, but I would have bled to death if you had not cared for my wound.

"I wished to kill you, and you have saved my life. Now, if I live, and if you wish it, I will serve you as your most faithful servant, and I will order my sons to do the same. Forgive me."

The king was very glad to have made peace with his enemy so easily. He forgave him, and promised to send his own doctor and to give back his land.

The answers

Then the king went out to find the hermit, who was on his knees sowing seeds in the beds they had dug the day before.

"For the last time," said the king, "I beg you to answer my questions, wise man."

"You have already been answered," said the hermit.

"How? What do you mean?"

"Do you not see? If you had not pitied my weakness yesterday and dug these beds for me, but had gone on your way, that man would have attacked you, and you would have wished you had stayed with me. So the most important time was when you were digging the beds. I was the most important person, and to do me good was your most important business.

"Afterwards, when that man ran to us, the most important time was when you were caring for him. If you had not bound up his wounds, he would have died without making peace with you. So he was the most important person, and what you did for him was your most important business.

"Remember, then. There is only one time that is important: now. It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.

"The most necessary person is the one you are with, for no one knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else.

"And the most important thing is to do that person good, because for that purpose alone were we sent into this life."

About this story

Leo Tolstoy wrote this parable in 1885. Its closing answers have been quoted by teachers, monks and writers all over the world. This is a retelling, keeping the meaning of the hermit's final answer; the original is in the public domain.